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To Smooth34, thanks for the the Coaches Poll information. A Big 10 college is, by my way of thinking, short sighted from a business perspective if they lack interest in doing what it takes to assemble winning teams across the board. Athletic success can be good business. It then goes back to what Powerline mentions about the time and due diligence it takes to assemble a staff that is capable of delivering. To WCWC Coach: I think your points are well taken. Just my $.02

Powerline, thanks for your reply in regards to my original question. Very enlightening! Your explanation and views on the process of selecting a college coach appear dead on. In general, I suppose forums can serve as a clearing house for views, facts and opinions. They certainly help one evaluate things full circle. What is clear, is that Coach Hinkle, and his staff, should be commended and are appreciated for their hard work, vision and effort. I don't know Coach Hinkle personally, but it does not take too much to learn he is a man of integrity, compassion and ethics. Fine qualities in this day and age. On the other side of the coin, Coach Ersland, and his staff, are accomplished hard/smart workers hoping to instill their recipe of success for a group of fine young men and wrestlers. I suppose it fair that Coach Ersland, and his staff, be afforded the time to create the synergy and direction he is working towards. Knowing the subject matters in these forums continue to be read by the wrestlers and parents of these college boys, it's probably worth reminding and reiterating that there is but one constant in this crazy world: change. Nothing ever stays the same, and while some may resist or be hesitant of change, change can (and most time does) bring many new opportunities. For the coaching staff going out and the staff coming in. For the wrestler looking to add to his/her repertoire.

Using the word "Transformation" was probably a bad choice on my part. I know it is too early to claim any sort of transformation having taken place at Purdue. What I was curious about and the reason for my post was to better understand , if anyone knows, how and who in the university administration, in this case Purdue, decides when it is time to make a coaching change? Just curious how this all went down knowing that changing a coaching staff can be a risky endeavor with no guarantees.

Curious if anyone out there knows exactly where, in the wheel of administration at Purdue, the desire and catalyst for change originated? What person or people owned that project? Also, if I recall correctly, Coach Ersland was not even on the radar screen as a possible candidate for this coaching position (at least within these forums). Imagine how rewarding it must be for whomever watching this transformation take place. Congratulations to them!

One of the foundations for building a Champion starts with the "mind." With the youth season upon us, remember, there is a correct way of doing things and an incorrect way. I've done it both ways and only one way works if you want them wrestling by the time they are a senior. How a young wrestler perceives this sport and the reactions of their parent/s oftentimes determines how far they will go in this great sport. Consider these words from a post in Dr. G's Newsletter as you travel to and from all of the upcoming tournaments this season: ON THE CAR RIDE HOME........DEAR MOM AND DAD, PLEASE, Don't make me talk about the match, Don't tell me everything that I did wrong, Don't be angry at, and disappointed in me, Don't tell me all of the things that I need to work on and do to improve..... Don't give me the silent treatment!! It's just a match and may already feel terrible enough as it is.... Instead, Help me feel that you love me anyway, Unconditionally, Let me know in your voice tone, words, facial expression and posture that MY FEELINGS ARE MORE IMPORTANT TO YOU THAN MY PERFORMANCE, Talk about everything else except my sport, unless I bring it up, Let me listen to my music, if I don't want to talk, I may really need the time to process stuff myself, Help me keep the game in perspective because, In the BIG picture, it's not what's really important here, Your relationship with me and my emotional well-being IS MOST IMPORTANT!

Great thread. This subject impacts so many kids. An observation I have had is the choice of specializing can start first with your kid. What makes them happiest? As we all know, kids perform best at what they do when they own the decision and feel good about what they are choosing to do with their time. Not when it is forced upon them. Often times, as they mature, you will begin noticing their interest towards specializing. They began initiating discussions towards that end. They begin wanting to make more practices in that particular sport. A parent does not need to suggest this route. Kids are smart enough to figure that out on their own. They see and hear examples of specialization constantly. When a decision of specialization then becomes supported by parents, the kid becomes open to managing his off-season time productively with only limited help by the parent. I support multi-sport and specialization for athletes. Again, it comes down to what your kid wants. For whatever it is worth, here is a tiny view into specialization. For example, if a kid decides to drop baseball in Spring, that time can be replaced with the technical, physical and mental side of the ISWA season. They add experience in the sport by the intense matches of Folkstyle, Freestyle and Greco State Tournaments and those tournaments that precede the state tournament series. Besides the skill acquired in this extra season, they acquire mental fortitude and more “feel for the sport” (mat time). Then, if your child is willing and has the opportunity of training with a purpose in May and June for a national tournament/s at some venue, they gain even more mat time with extra mental preparation. By summer, if a kid chooses not to play football, his time can be replaced by staying off the mat and his time redirected towards, for example, developing the posterior chain muscles from July through October 27th. This removal from the mat helps prevent burn out and gives the kid new refreshing challenges, all of which contributes to the quality of their wrestling. Then, when the season starts, they feel a sense of being refreshed with the added bonus of being stronger. Burn out can sometimes be addressed by changing the pace of training. I've noticed not too many kids want to be on the mat 12 months of the year. If you have one of these kids, it is unusual. When necessary, help encourage your kid to remove himself/herself from mat training and redirect their focus for a period of time with ancillary work that helps compliment their wrestling ability. Be creative. This is where other sports can come in but they can conflict with the above scenario. Specializing, in my opinion is just that. You define broad areas of work needing done from technique to mental to strength and then you work backwards in making certain those areas get covered. In this example, one could argue that playing other sports does not afford you the time to cover all of these bases. Finally, I understand that to make it to the final match in high school requires some degree of mental mastery. Your average 16-18 year old can crack under this type pressure. I have used the word “mental” a number of times in this post to illustrate how a specialized kid arguably has more opportunities to experience and confront the mental side of wrestling more than the kid who does not train year round. The mental side of wrestling can never be underestimated. I am in no way implying that a kid cannot experience this in other sports, they absolutely can; they would just need to make certain their chosen sport, whether individual or team, is honestly putting them in somewhat of a similar environment. If you listen, kids will reveal their interests in training year round. It is not for everyone and certain kids are better off putting their eggs in multiple baskets or simply enjoying what life puts before them. At the end of the day, it's all about listening and supporting these great kids who have whatever level of interest in this GREAT sport.